Building slab and wall construction



Sept. 29,- 1931. T. J. FOSTER BUILDING SLAB AND WALL CONSTRUCTION '2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filgd Sept. 24. 1927 Sept 29 1931. v J FOSTER 1,825,346

BUILDING SLAB AND WALL CONSTRUCTION Filed Sept. 24. 1927 TSheets-Shaet 2 slab 7 Patented Sept. 29, 1931 moms .1. rosrna, or :ameuwoon, mass:

BUILDING SLAB AND WALL CONSTRUCTION Application filed September 24,1927. Serial No. 221,780.

This invention relates to materials for building construction, and is particularly applicable to the construction of floors, ceilings,

roofs, walls and partitions, where non-combustibility and sound proofness combined with light weight are desirable;

The invention aims to provide a light,

strong, heat and sound proof fire-resisting slab which may be put in place with facility and does not require plastering to make an acceptable finish.

Further objects of the invention appear hereinafter in connection with the description of the several embodiments illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein Fig. lis a perspective view of a wall embodying the invention, showing the various steps or stages in erection;

Fig. 2 is a cross-section through a ceiling at right angles to the direction of the reinforcing strips, showing several varieties of reinforcing and nailing strips suitable for supporting a floor having a wood finish;

Fig. 3 is a similar view of a roof slab having a cement or composition finish;

Fig. 4 is a horizontal cross-section through an outside wall embodying the invention showing a preferred form of stud construction;

Figs. 5 and 6 are similar views illustrating other forms of stud construction; and

Fig. 7 is a perspective view of a supporting sheet and stiiiening bars ready to be placed in a horizontal supporting frame and to receive the'aerated gypsum or similar plastic material to form a slab.

This invention is illustrated in Fi 1 as applied to an inside wall supporte upon floors carried by light weight beams 11, the floor slabs 12 being composed of heat and sound insulating material from two to three inches or more in thickness and provided with wood screeds or nailing strips 13for a wood floor 1 1, as is customary inapartments and offices and other buildings having this type of floor. Any type oftloor construction may be used with partition walls embodying the invention, as it is adapted to both fire proof and semi-fire proof or fire resisting construc- 50 tion.

.of light weight heat and sound insulating material, as described in my patent No. 1,717,-

In the floor illustrated, therfloor slab 12 is composed of suitable fire resisting sheets or boards 15-, such as sheet rock, gypsum boards, etc., commonly used for partitions and ceilings, which are laid across the supporting beams 11 and insulate them from the floor slab as described in my Patents Nos. 1,582,172 and 1,582,173, dated April 27,1926, and which in turn support the floor filhng 16 444, dated June 18, 1929.

-.The floor supportin sheets 15 are preferably stiffened to give t emsufiicientstren h and rigidity to su port the filling 16 during construction by ri s or bars 17 of wood or I metal, which are secured flat against the floor sheets for their entire length by means of suitable adhesive 18, such as asphaltum or other sticky non-combustible material, that retains its adhesive properties for an indefinite period. These bars 17 may be made the full depth of the fill and used to support the floor finish 14 in wooden floors, or they may be shallower and covered by the fill, as desired. Com osite ribs 19 of wood and metal may be use to advantage, as illustrated in Fig. 2.

Fastenin the strengthening ribs to the sheets in t e manner described stops the vibration in theribs so that sound will not be conducted through them, thereby eliminating any direct means for conducting sounds from the room above to the room below or vice versa.

Any suitable means for proteotmg the beams may be attached to the underside of the floor. For example, as shown in Fig. 1, the beam protection is afforded by cast concre'te channels 20, which may be secured to the under sidepf the floorslab 1-2 by means of metal straps or hangers-21 embedded inthe channels and having their upper ends projecting through the sheets 15 and anchored by any suitable means.

The wall slabs 22 (see Figs. 1 and 4) are held at top and bottom by soflit boards 23, which may be secured beneath the beam covering bymeans of hangers or screws 24, and

sills or plates 25, which may be laid along the or made up in advance and stored to harden and dry out thoroughly before being erected in their places in t e structure, particularly if made of a wet material like cellular gypsum. In the form illustrated they comprise outer layers 26 of plaster board, sheet rock,

' or the like, between which is a filling 27 of cellular gypsum, or other heat and sound insulating material. The edges of the slabs are formed of strips of wood 28, 29 or other suitable material, which project slightly beyond the sheets to enable them to be secured to each other and to the soflit strips and sills by nails, screws, or other fastening means. The spaces 30 left between the edges of adjacent panels may befilled with utty or plaster to form a smooth wall (see Figs. 1 and 4:).

The side edge stiffening strips 28 may be halved together or so shaped on their outer edges as to fit tightly against the outer edges of similar strips on adjoining slabs in the structure, as illustratedin Figs. 1 and 6, or they may be grooved and provided with tongues 31, as illustrated in Figs. 4 and 5,

or otherwise shaped and secured together.

Intermediate stiffening strips 32 (see Fig. 7) may be provided if the slabs are not sufficiently rigid without.

For exterior walls and roofs, a layer of waterproofing 33 may be ap lied on the out- "r side of the filling, and if desired, a layer of wiremesh reinforcement 34 may be embedded therein to give additional strength. Stucco or other finishing material 35 may be applied over the waterproofing for improving the external appearance of the structure, as illustrated in Fig. 4. A layer of chicken wire or wire mesh 36 to which the stucco is applied in the usual manner may be advantageously used to prevent exterior cracks if stucco or other weak material be used for the finish coat.

Various means for securing the assembled slabs in position may be used, depending upon the type of building. For example, the upper e ges may be secured by corner molding 37, or may be embraced by the side walls of aninverted channel shaped ceiling finishing bead not illustrated. Adjacent slabs may be secured by screws, nails or both, passing through the abutting strips in addition to the grooves and splines 31. Whether the slabs be intended for partitions, sloping walls or roofs, or ceilings, will usually determine the nature of the securing means adopted for preventin displacement. The adaptability of the sla s to different types of construction is a characteristic feature of the invention.

A convenient method of constructing such slabs is illustrated in Fig. 7, wherein the side strips 28 and end strips 29 are shown as secured in place u on the edges of the supporting sheet 15 y any suitable means, and interior ribs or bars 32 are secured across the width of the sheet in one or more places. The corners ma be stren thened with corner braces 39 i desired, \v hich are likewise secured to the sheets 15. Asphaltum or other adhesive may be used for securing the strips and bars to the sheets. The sheet and assembled side strips and stiffening bars are placed in the horizontal supporting frame 40, and poured full of plastic material level with the tops of the side strips. It will be understood that a second sheet may be laid on the fresh plastic material and secured in place against the side strips to constitute a double faced slab, if desired.

The bars 41 in the bottom of the supporting frame enable the slab to be lifted out readily and carried to some suitable drying shed or rack, where it is left until the plastic material has hardened sufficiently to permit .it to be erected in the building.

The slabs should be kept dry during the construction of the building, and this may be accomplished by covering them with a waterproofing sufficient to exclude the moisture from them for some weeks. This cheapens the cost of the building by allowing floorsand roof to be laid without waiting for wet slabs to dry out, and improves the construction by insuring that the floor finish and finished roof be put on dry slabs. Otherwise, moisture would have difiiculty in getting out of the slabs after the floor waterproofing, roofing felt and finished roof was put on.

It is obvious that the invention may be embodied in various types of construction and utilize a wide variety of constructional materials, and that various modes of procedure may be followed in constructing the slabs and erecting the structure. The invention is not restricted to the illustrative embodiments shown and described.

I claim the following as my invention:

1. The process of constructing building slabs having facing sheets of insulating material and a filling of heat and sound proofing material that comprises placing arigid facing sheet in a horizontal position, adhesively securing edge strips to the edges of said facing sheet, pouring a plastic cementitious mixture of heat and sound proofing material on top of said sheet within the space confined by said edging strips, permitting the filling material to set,removing the slab from its horizontal position and permitting it to dry thoroughly.

2. The process of constructing building slabs having facing sheets of insulating material and a filling of heat and sound proofing material that comprises placing a rigid facing sheet in a horizontal position, adhesively securing edge strips to the edges of said facing sheet, pouring a plastic cementitious mixture of heat and sound proofing material on top of said sheet within the space confined by said edging strips, 9. plying a second facing sheet on top of said face contact therewith, permitting the filling material to set, removing the slab from its horizontal position and permitting it to dry thorou hly.

3. The process of constructing building slabs having facing sheets of insulating material and a filling of heat and sound proofing material that comprises placing a rigid fac ing sheet in a horizontal position, adhesively securing edge strips to the edges of said facing sheet, pouring a plastic cementitious mixture of heat and sound proofing material on top of said sheet within the space confined by said edging strips, permitting the filling material to set, removing the slab from its horizontal position and permitting it to dry thoroughly, and thereafter waterproofing said slab to prevent absorption of moisture.

4. The method of producing 2. dr Water- 295 proof, heat and sound proof buil ing slab consisting of securing stifi'ening members to a rigid facing sheet, spreading a plastic cementitious llin upon said facing sheet to embed said sti ening members, permitting said slab to set, and thereafter permitting said slab to dry thoroughly prior to erecting it in the building.

5. The process of constructing building slabs having facing sheets of insulating ma terial and a filling of heat and sound proofing material that comprises placing a rigid facing sheet in a horizontal position, adhesively securing edge strips to the edges of said facing sheet, pouring a plastic cementitions mixture of heat and sound proofing material on top of said sheet within the space confined by said edging strips. permitting the filling material to set and removing the slab from its horizontal position.

6. The process of constructing building slabs having'facing sheets of insulating ma-g terial and a filling of heat and sound proof-' ing material that comprises placing a rigid facing sheet in a horizontal position, adhesively securing edge strips to the edges of said facing sheet, pouring a plastic cementitious mixture of heat and sound proofing material on top of said sheet within the space confined by said edging strips, a plying a. second faclng sheet on top of said material in surface contact therewith, permitting the filling material to set and removing the slab from its horizontal position."

' 7.. The method of producin a d waterproof, heat and sound proo buil g slabconsisting of securing stifiening members to a rigid facing sheet, spreading a plastic cementitious filhng upon said faclng sheet toembed said stifi'ening members and pore mitting said slab to set.

ng material in sur-- 8. The process of constructin building slabs having facing sheets of ins ating material and a filling of heat and sound prooiing material that comprises adhesively securing edging strips to the edges of a rigid facing sheet, pouring a plastic cementitious mixture of heat and sound proofing material on top of said sheet within the space confined by said edging strips While holding said sheet in substantially horizontally positure of heat and sound proofing material on top of said sheet within the space defined by said edging strips while maintaining said substantially rigid slab-form in a substantial ly horizontal position, permitting the filling material to set before moving the slah and permitting the slab'to dry thoroughly. 7

10. The process of constructing building slabs having facing sheets of insulating material and a filling of heat and sound proofing material that comprises first constructing a substantially rigid slab-form by adhesively securing edge strips to the edges of a facing sheet, pouring a plastic cementitious mixture of heat and sound proofing material on top of said sheet within the space defined by said edgin strips while maintainin said substantially rigid slab-form in a su stantially horizontal position until said filling material sets, and applying a second facing sheet to finish the filled side of said slab.

11. The process of constructing building slabs having facing sheets of insulating material and a filling of heat and sound proofing material that comprises first constructing a substantially rigid slab-form by adhesively securing edge strips to the edges of a facing sheet, pouring a lastic cementitious mixture of heat and soon proofing material on top .of said sheet within the space defined by said edging strips while maintaining said substantially rigid slab-form in a. substantially horizontal position until said filling material sets, applying a second facing sheet to finish the filled side of said slab, and permitting said slab to dry thoroughly.

-In testimony whereof I have signed-my name to this specification. 

